It varies with a child’s attention span, of course. “I have seen 4-year-olds sit transfixed and older kids get restless,” says Ballet West artistic director Adam Sklute. “My general opinion is if a kid can sit and enjoy a Disney-type movie in the movie theater, then a kid can enjoy ‘The Nutcracker.’”
Sara M.K. Neal, the company’s interim marketing director, says she first took her twin daughters at age 3, but they only saw the first act. Age 6 seems like a good sweet spot, as kids at that age are likely to be “curious enough, and they can sit still and they can just marvel,” Neal says.